Welcome! Now that Previews has a section of the catalog dedicated to manga, we decided it was time to start highlighting that section’s most notable upcoming releases. Read on to see what stuck out to us!
10. Sports and Adaptations!
One of the most fascinating things about the Japanese entertainment industry is the longevity of its properties in every medium. Here we have a property that started out as a series of novels, was adapted into a manga, and got a live-action film, all within a few years, then a decade later got an anime and now has a new manga. Is this a hard reboot? A retelling of the old story? A sequel story with the same characters? I’m not sure. But given the recent success of sports manga and anime like “Haikyu!!” and “Yuri!!! On Ice,” as well as the success of American books that take after them like “Fence” and “Dodge City,” there’s no better time to start publishing this new volume of “Dive!!”
Dive!!, volume 1
Written by Eto Mori
Illustrated by Ruzuru Akashiba
Published by Yen Press
Tomoki has long been passionate about the blink-of-an-eye performances that take place on the platform of the 10m dive. But as a member of the Mizuki Diving Club, he’ll need more than passion when his team’s lackluster record leaves them on the outs with their sponsors! Given an ultimatum to qualify for the Olympics in one short year and a new coach to train under, Tomoki and his teammates compete for glory with the fate of the diving club riding on their shoulders!
9. Lush, Thin-Lined Sci-Fi Environments.
The story sounds like a lot of high-concept sci-fi, but a few peeks at the interior art sold me (and I should note, that cover is not very representative of the inside). Nihei is all about creating stories that make the most of his art, and his background in architecture mean his thin-lined scene designs look fantastic. There’s a Halloween Comicfest preview coming out in shops this month, so check that out if you’re interested!
Aposimz, volume 2
Written and Illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei
Published by Vertical Comics
From acclaimed mangaka Tsutomu Nihei, the creator and artist behind BLAME! and Knights of Sidonia, comes his newest science fiction epic. The artificial celestial body Aposimz measures 120,000 km in diameter. Most of its volume is its core space, which is covered by a superstructural shell. Fifty centuries ago, the people who lost the war against the core lost their right to reside legitimately on Aposimz, and were stranded on the frigid surface. They face rampant Frame Disease and aggressive automatons which appear frequently on the Ruins Level. Yet even so, somehow the people survive.
8. The Life of a Stray Cat, or the Life of a Gangster?
Imagine the life of a stray cat. Living on the street, eating out of garbage cans, curling up into tiny boxes. Now take that image and replace the cat with a human gangster. This book looks insane and I can’t wait to read it.
Nyankees, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Atsushi Okada
Published by Yen Press
Protecting your turf, keeping other guys from pawing at your girl, showing everyone who’s boss, scraping by-it’s all in a day’s work when you’re a street thug…or a street cat! Explore the hidden world of rough-and-tumble stray cats depicted as delinquents in this quirky and hilarious series by manga-ka Atsushi Okada! It’ll have you purring with laughter!
7. The First to Admit Their Love… Loses!!
I’ve been loving this series. Every chapter provides a new “battle” in the attempts of these two high school students to get the other to admit their love first. You can jump in at any time and laugh at the absurd parody of suspense stories. It’s not all jokes, though: it’s easy to get caught up in their attempts to outsmart the other. Reading this book gives you the thrills of a book like Death Note with the fun of a dis battle.
Continued belowKaguya-Sama: Love is War, volume 6
Written and Illustrated by Aka Akasaka
Published by Viz Media
Will Kaguya figure out what Miyuki wants for his birthday plus present him with the perfect cake? Is treasurer Yu flunking out of school and beyond help …or can the one he fears most get him back on track? Then the romantic autumn moon-viewing festival leads to some stellar night moves. The student council plays a role-playing game in which at least one member doesn’t get to play out their fantasy. Ai assumes an alter ego to prove she can get Miyuki to fall in love with her in just one day. And Miyuki’s time as student council president is up! We play many roles in life.
6. Revenge.
A teen dealing with childhood trauma and looking for revenge. What could go wrong?
For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kei Sanbe
Published by Yen Press
As a young child, Senri Nakajou saw his family murdered before his eyes, and he’s lived for revenge ever since. From his daily activities to his studies, everything is about attaining the power and money necessary to find the killer and make him pay-even if it means getting a little dirty himself…
5. Screwing with People for Fun.
This book sounds like a delight. An employer sending their goofy slacker worker into ridiculous situations so that the employer can create manga diaries of the failures? That’s just the kind of sitcom premise I like to see. Plus, this book did well enough in individual volumes to be re-released as a large all-in-one book here, so there’s precedent to be excited.
Shut-in Shoutarou Kominami Takes on the World
Written and Illustrated by Dan Ichikawa
Published by Yen Press
“Shy” + “Lonely” + “Chicken” = Shlocken?! After not leaving his house for several months, Shoutarou Kominami by chance lands a part-time job in an attempt to break free of his less than human existence and “shlocken” personality. But unbeknownst to the former shut-in, his new boss is a manga artist, and Shoutarou is about to become his muse?!
4. Are the Aliens Attacking Yet? No? That’s Okay.
I’ll read anything Inio Asano creates. The mangaka has such a distinct style, combining realistic, fully rendered figures with photo collage-assisted backgrounds and absurdist touches, that it doesn’t matter if his storyline is oblique. And oblique it is. But through his slice-of-life exploration of the human tendency to normalize anything if it’s been around long enough, the book is always a thought-provoking experience.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, volume 4
Written and Illustrated by Inio Asano
Published by Viz Media
Despite the ongoing menace of wild Invaders and A-ray contamination, people are still moving to Tokyo to find opportunities and themselves. After all, the likelihood of getting squashed by a crashing Invader vessel is still extremely low! Meanwhile, Kadode and her friends have started university, where they must face the crisis of choosing which school club to join-a critical decision that will affect the rest of their lives!
3. Return of a “Masterpiece.”
“Aria” is one of those manga that I’ve always heard of, but never tried to read. And it turns out there’s a good reason: two different publishers had tried publishing the slice-of-life sci-fi/fantasy series, and one stopped after three volumes while the other stopped after six. Each edition of this new Tokyopop line contains the content of two volumes, so hopefully that should help them get all the way through. I love these sorts of books that are primarily about exploring a world and taking in the environments, and I feel like we don’t get enough of them in American comics.
Aria: The Masterpiece, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kozue Amano
Published by Tokyopop
On the planet Aqua, a world once known as Mars, Akari Mizunashi has just made her home in the town of Neo-Venezia, a futuristic imitation of the ancient city of Venice. In pursuit of her dream to become an Undine — a gondolier who leads high-end tours around the city — Akari joins as a trainee with the Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in Neo-Venezia. There, she explores the beauty of the city and the world along with other trainees from Aria and rival companies, working hard for her dreams and making new friends along the way.
Dive into the world of Aqua with Kozue Amano’s gorgeously detailed illustrations and full-color spreads in this deluxe masterpiece edition, featuring the full prequel series, Aqua!
2. The Hit Diary Comics Continue.
“My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” took the comics criticism world by storm when it was released last year, ending up on many year-end “best of” lists. Nagata’s follow-up, “My Solo Exchange Diary,” continued the mangaka’s diary comics exploration of mental health and her acceptance of her sexuality. Now we have another volume. I’m not sure how much longer she can keep returning to this well, but hey, it hasn’t gotten old yet.
Continued belowMy Solo Exchange Diary, volume 2
Written and Illustrated by Kabi Nagata
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
The sequel to the viral sensation My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness! In this follow-up to her critical and commercial hit, Nagata Kabi uses engaging diary comics to explore her personal issues surrounding mental health, identity, and intimacy. Her relationship with her parents is growing more difficult than ever, and she struggles with the idea of living alone for the first time. Join her on her heart-wrenching, relatable journey through the challenges of adulthood.
1. Translated After All This Time.
One of the most frustrating things about being an English-language manga reader is knowing that there are so many more series out there that you can’t read. For that reason, it’s always great when a publisher picks up a gem from the past that never made it to the states. Fukumoto’s work has never been translated into English before, so this award-winning manga will be many American readers’ first exposure to him. His art style looks completely unusual compared to what we usually see translated, and his story, which deals with the Yakuza and gambling theory, is equally as unique. This manga is still running after 20 years and almost 70 volumes, so it’s about time we got a line of thick English versions!
Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Published by Denpa Books
One day, ne’er-do-well Kaiji Itou’s shiftless existence is suddenly rattled by a visit from the yakuza. Burdened by debt and resentment, he is coerced into gambling his worthless life. As the stakes grow higher and the games become increasingly more bizarre, Kaiji must take his future in his hands!
Anything you’re looking forward to that I overlooked? Let me know in the comments!
